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When most people think of the Guinness World Records, they probably think of the fantastic feats of man — first man on the moon, the world’s fastest runner and all that epic stuff. But the real bread and butter of the World Record scene is no doubt the rubbish records like most Ferrero Roches eaten in a minute (that’s nine if you’re wondering) and the most steps walked down by a dog facing forward balancing a glass of water (currently held by Sweet Pea, with ten steps). These sort of things don’t really take much in the way of skill (no offence Sweet Pea), and seemingly the only real talent involved is thinking up a record no one’s really bothered with yet.
One of the easiest type of records to break must be the ‘biggest items’ categories. Providing you’ve got a decent amount of money and the means for making a massive pizza/fully functioning motorbike/whatever, then you’ve pretty much bagged the record from the outset. As it happens, a few of our respected brands have gone down this weird marketing route, and have a few Guinness World Records under their oversized novelty belts.
First off there’s Red Wing, who currently hold the enviable record for making the world’s biggest boots. Made to tie in with the launch of a flagship shop in their native Minnesota, the boots took 160 people 13 months to make, and are 20 feet tall — that’s size 638 in US sizes. It’s safe to say the Minnesota wing of the Vegan Society weren’t best pleased…
If you’re tall enough for size 638 Red Wings, then chances are buying clothes is a bit of a struggle. Luckily the American overall masters at Round House (who, in a nifty bit of product placement, made these chinos for Woolrich) know how to celebrate a birthday in style, and made the world’s biggest bib overalls to commemorate 100 years of bibbing. Measuring-up at over 17 feet long with a 174 inch waist, this may sound pretty good, but it turns out Round House had to invent a new record category for these, so it’s not as if there was any tough competition. Still you can’t really argue with a pointlessly big pair of novelty overalls.
Another noticeable mention in this round-up of marketing oddities is the Sebago boat-shoe-boat. It may not have a broken any World Records (although nothing’s stopping Sebago from applying for a ‘first boat shoe that is actually a boat as well’ category), but it certainly is a beauty. We don’t have any tech specs or much information on the thing, but just knowing things like this exist in the world is enough for us.
